[overheard]

This weekend we pretty much took it easy.  No huge plans, no trips, nothing.  It was quite a nice end to an INSANELY busy summer for the Scacco family.  So we took the boys to the zoo on Sunday and today we had a picnic at dinner time.

On the way home in the car, we had the radio on, but I began to hear some singing from the back seat.  As my ear tuned in to discern what song it was, I became more and more amazed.
Jacob was sitting in the back seat singing a song that I had sung to him when he was a baby!  I loved the rhythm and minor feel to the song, Jolene, originally by Dolly Parton, but recently remade by someone whom I can't recall at the moment.  At any rate, its a cool tune, but not exactly lullaby material.  What I loved, though, is when I sung it, Jacob would always get really quiet and listen closely.  I think the haunting feel of the minor key always caught his curiosity.  Of course, I changed the words to fit the occasion, but other than that, the song was intact.

"Jakey, Jakey, Jakey, Jakey.  Momma sure does love her little man.
Jakey, Jakey, Jakey, Jakey.  Momma loves you just because she can."

Unmistakably, he was singing "his" song.

"Your eyes are of the purest blue
and every time I look at you
I'm filled with joy 'cause you're my boy, Jakey."

I couldn't believe how many of the words he knew!

At this point, he realized I was listening and shyly stopped singing,
but the impression had been made.  
Wow...  He is listening.  He *IS* listening!  :)
My "mommy heart" is ready to burst! 

Haircuts!

We went a little crazy this weekend and had both the boys' hair cut!
It was the first real haircut for Dane (aside from Mommy's hacking), and he was such a good boy for the whole thing.  We got Jacob's hair cut, too, and it was a little bit of an adventure.  Our regular coiffeuse, Marlene, only had time to cut one of the boys' hair, so I had her cut Dane's.  We then took Jacob to a nearby salon who accepted walk-ins, since I couldn't stand the bushy mop any more.  I asked the lady to leave it longer on top and shorter on the bottom.  She must not have had a lot of experience with children, because it was looking a little hacked up, and every time she tried to fix it, it kept getting shorter and shorter!  Finally I told her to stop, thinking I'd fix it myself at some point.  Oh, well, it still looks cute.  Here are the pics!

Getting ready for his first haircut:

The mop

 See?!?!

 Marlene working her magic!

Very chill...

The final product!

He looks so grown up!

 And speaking of grown up...

Shorter than I had hoped for, but still adorable!

[overheard]

This morning I was getting Jakey ready to go, putting on his socks and shoes. I had him sitting on the diaper changing table. Usually I wear regular pajamas to bed, but last night I had worn a nightgown. It was long, down to the floor, and was cinched a bit at the empire waist.
I saw Jacob focus in on the hem of my gown and follow the line of the fabric up to my waist.
Suddenly he looked up at me with wide eyes and said, "Mommy! You're a princess!"
Oh my precious, dear boy. If only all the world thought I was a princess.
But, since you do, then I certainly am.

[overheard]

The other night I was putting Jacob to bed with the usual routine.  I don't recall exactly what we had been talking about or what the circumstance was, but what I do remember is what he said to me. 
    "I 'cared, Mommy."  I stopped.  Silence.  Thought. 
    "You're scared, Jacob?"  "Uh-huh."  More thought. 
    "What are you scared of?"  Silence. 
Evidently he didn't know how to express what he was scared of, because, as quickly as it had begun, the moment was over.  His attention moved to something else in the room - the lamp, a book, something. 
Every day it is amazing to me what he says, both because he has physically formed the words with his mouth, but also because it gives me a glimpse into the workings of his mind.  I am having trouble remembering that he is only two years old, because he seems so much more grown-up than a "mere" two-year-old could be.  But along with this growth comes his venturing into new situations, new emotions.  It breaks my heart to know that - already - he is learning that the world he lives in is not always safe, that sometimes there is reason to be scared.  Hopefully he understands it only at a shallow level right now.  And I hope he understands the protective love his Daddy and I have for him.  I pray we can help him understand God's protective love for him, too, especially since God has the ultimate power to do so.  Even more so than the fact that his parents are here for him, I want God's fatherly love to be a comfort to him.
These are the moments you never expect, in being a parent.

A Fine Day For A Ride

Jacob got a new toy today - a little powered motorcycle from Grandpa Dan.  He LOVES it!  Daddy and Mommy particularly like it because it looks like a Harley.  The stickers on it say Wild Child - how funny!
At first he didn't really understand how to make it work, and managed a few near-misses with the neighbors' cars, etc.  But after awhile, he could steer really well, even navigating correctly when we would say, "Go left!" or "Steer right!".  I was impressed.
Here are some pictures of Jacob on his new "mumm".  Hopefully we'll get a chance to also post the video of him riding for the first time.

Thanks, Grandpa Dan!

Oops!  Ran into the rocks!

Do you see the "Back Off" sticker?!?!

Halloween 2009

All who know me know that I don't get into Halloween much.  However... the part that I do like about Halloween is yummy goodies and cute kids in costumes! 

Today Jakey and I made owl cookies.  We had a lot of fun, and Jakey LOVED putting the sprinkles on.  Mommy had quite a time convincing him NOT to eat all of the pieces before we got them together!  :)

After naptime, Jacob and Dane donned their costumes and got their first taste of trick-or-treating.  Jacob was a biker and Dane was a cowboy.  We went just to a few houses around ours, and one at the end of the street.  Jacob didn't quite get it, though, because at one house he tried to give candy to the people who live there!  It was hilarious. 

Please enjoy these photos of the day:

Sweet Moments...

Jacob has a little "lovey" blankie that he calls his mimi.  We don't know how he came up with that, but that's what he calls it.  Sometimes we play with him and snatch his mimi away and pretend it is ours.  He always says, "MY mimi!"  Some time ago, we started to then grab him, after a "MY mimi" and say, "Yes, that's your mimi, but YOU are MY mimi!"  Most of the time these days, its Daddy who plays this game.

So I came home from work (this is my second week back after maternity leave) and proceeded to sit on the couch beside Jacob as he watched "Melmo".  This has become routine for us all, now that we head off to work and daycare early in the morning.  Jacob scooted over to me and snuggled in.  Then I heard him say, "You're MY mimi."  MY HEART MELTED...  It was as good as if he'd said, "I love you."  Maybe better.  I love this little boy.

Jacob turns 2!

Believe it or not, Jacob turned 2 today! It is astounding how fast the time has gone. Everyone tells you that, but experiencing the phenomenon just baffles me.

We had a fun day. The Sharps came to play and have lunch. At dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Jacob and gave him his present from Gary's "Aunt" Geri and "Uncle" Harry. Jacob liked our song so much that he started singing, too. "Happy to me..." OH. SO. CUTE!

This weekend we'll go to Grandma Merry and Grandpa John's house to celebrate Jacob's birthday with our family, and his friend Aaron's, too! Aaron will be 2 next week, also, and the Sharps have become family to us. It will be fun!

Until then, enjoy these photos from today, and a couple of Jacob entertaining Dane earlier in the week. Such a good big brother!

Happy Birthday to Jacob!


Blowing out the candles:

Opening his presents:



Having fun with baby Dane:

It's Football Season!

Thought I'd post a pic of our cute little Bears fans. (Daddy has *nothing* to do with that! Right!)

The poor dears - I hope last night's game is not indicative of the kind of season we'll be having here in Chicago. We didn't pay big bucks for Jay Cutler for nothing!

(Listen to me - I sound like I'm married to a sports fan or something!) :)

Here they are!



Dane's outfit has a cute hat that Mommy found irresistible,
so here's another picture of him:



Go Bears!!!!

Father's Day

Father's Day was a relaxing day for us. We went to church on Saturday night, which meant a bit of sleeping-in on Sunday morning. When Jacob woke up, he snuggled with Daddy and gave him his card and present. Later in the day we had a barbecue with some friends. Very nice - and a great segue into summer!
Here is a cuter-than-ever picture of Daddy and Jacob from that morning. The resemblance is hilarious!

So You Think You're Hilarious

Grandma Merry came to stay with us last week to help get ready for Baby Dane's arrival.
In the process, among other things, the house managed to get clean, the flower beds were weeded and planted, baby clothes were washed, sorted, and loaded into the dresser, and Jacob got to go for some LONG walks in the stroller. I think he may have even been spoiled a little bit (You think???). At any rate, he and Grandma (Maw-maw) definitely bonded. He was being quite a ham one night after his "baph", when I caught these precious moments. Jacob thinks he is quite hilarious. I'd have to say we agree. :)

Mmmmm... Spaghetti!

I took this picture when we were at the farm for Easter.
Evidently, Jacob REALLY liked Grandma Merry's spaghetti!

Will Dance for Cheese

This video is too hilarious! The "Happy Dance", as we call it, is pulled out for the things Jacob is most excited about. I think its funny that he dances on command. :) Being that he is the son of two cheese lovers, we shouldn't be surprised that he, too, loves cheese so much. Enjoy this snippet of our daily lives:

Jacob's First Official Haircut

Well, the time had come... Jacob's hair was too long to leave it go any longer, and Momma no longer felt she had the skills to get the job done well. I still didn't want to lose the curls, so we took him to the one person who I knew could get rid of some of the length and yet keep the curls, if that was at all possible - Marlene! And it was possible! I am SO pleased with the results. Check out these fun pictures from Looks salon:

Before:


Getting his hair washed:


Cutting:





Done!

What's the Word?

Our next door neighbor asked me the other day how many words Jacob was saying. Off the top of my head, I thought, “Maybe 10 ?” But I didn't really know. So I started making a list of all the words he was saying throughout the day. He says a lot more than I thought! Now, given, they are “Jake-ese”, but they’re still words!

Happy Valentine's Day!